Anatolian farmers in Europe: migrations and cultural transformation in Early Neolithic period

Abstract

Humans first started farming and domesticating animals around 9000 B.C. in the Levant and the Central Anatolia. The managing process of different plant and animal species was spreading from the Central Anatolia to Southern and Western Anatolia during 8th millennium BC, and in 7th millennium BC into Southeast Europe by Anatolian farmers. Furthermore, this process appeared in Central Europe in the middle of 6th millennium BC and eventually in north-western Europe in the middle of 4th millennium BC by Anatolian Neolithic farmers. Archaeological evidences as well as ancient DNA studies testify this migrations and cultural exchange of Anatolian farmers which enforced the neolithization in Europe and inevitably changed Europe‟s face forever. This research is aimed to give a chronological glimpse of that migration and the cultural transformation process from the Central Anatolia to Europe between 9th millennium and 4th millennium BC.